Reactions to the names "Counseling Center" and "Psychological Center."

Abstract

A questionnaire administered to 376 college students on three campuses found consistent differences in the reactions which students had to the names Counseling Center (CC) and Psychological Center (PC). CC was associated with the treatment of problems which were likely to be considered minor. PC was associated with the treatment of problems which were more likely to be seen as serious. The two centers differed on a number of descriptive items, with PC being seen as more medical, expensive, professional, embarrassing to go to, and competent than CC. The CC-PC differences are discussed as they relate to issues in clinical and counseling psychology.Reactions to the names "Counseling Center" and "Psychological Center" were investigated in association with the development of a university community mental health program at the authors' institution, with its requirement for effective communication with the student population. METHODThe 5s were from three Nashville, Tennessee, schools: (a) George Peabody College for Teachers (P): 79 females and 16 males, predominately Caucasian, in educational psychology classes; (6) Tennessee State University (T): 86 female and 61 male Negroes in introductory psychology classes; and (c) Vanderbilt University (V): 74 females and 60 males, predominately Caucasian, undergoing freshman orientation. Only V had an operative service center at the time of the study; P and T now have such centers.Part 1 of the questionnaire used was a list of 30 problems found in student populations. The 5s indicated whether a Counseling Center (CC), a Psychological Center (PC), or neither seemed more appropriate for each problem. Results were analyzed with chi-square tests on frequencies in the CC and PC categories. On Part 2, Ss rated CC and PC (order balanced across 5s) on 33 bipolar items (e.g., Nonmedical • • • Medical) with four scale points between each pole. The CC-PC comparisons on each item were analyzed with t tests, without directional predictions. The sets of Part 2 items for CC and for PC were factored separately by principle axis procedures with iterated communalities and were rotated to a promax solution. All extracted factors 1 Requests for reprints should be sent to Nicholas A. Sieveking, Psychological and Counseling Center,

Student and faculty perceptions of counseling centers: What's in a name?

“…The present data lend support to earlier research findings (e.g., Kohlan, 1973;Salisbury, 1972;Sieveking & Chappell, 1970) that the title of a counseling center affects how the center is viewed by students and faculty. These data also extend our knowledge of students' help-seeking tendencies in showing that these perceptions affect anticipated use of a counseling center.…”

“…Given the effects of helper titles, it also seems reasonable to hypothesize that students perceive counseling centers differently, depending on the title, and that these perceptions may affect students' use of center services. Indeed, earlier research findings may have shown that counseling center titles are perceived differently by students (Kohlan, 1973;Sieveking & Chappell, 1970) and that different types of problems are viewed as appropriate to take to different counseling centers, identified by titles (Salisbury, 1972;Sieveking & Chappell, 1970). However, it has yet to be investigated whether student willingness to use a counseling center is affected by how its title is perceived.…”

Possible community consequences of attitudes toward and models of deviant behavior

“…Physicians did not load on a factor, but they did receive an overall high helpfulness score and were seen as especially useful for drug addicts and for those with clearly physical problems. The lower overall helpfulness rating for counselors as compared with psychologists supports the findings of a previous study (Sieveking & Chappell, 1970) that the name "Counseling Center" evoked less favorable reactions than did the name "Psychological Center." Apparently different labels for persons and for centers, which might conduct similar activities, affect the expectations that people have of them.…”

The structure of attrition during appraisal

“…The question concerning whether people seek outside help for their problems is related to studies that investigate various aspects of the decision to seek treatment (Calhoun, Dawes, & Lewis, 1972;Fisher & Cohen, 1972;Kadushin, 1958;Kalis, Harris, Prestwood, & Freeman, 1961;McMichael & Hetzel, 1974). Preferences for different sources of help have been measured by several authors (Dahms, 1969;Michael, 1967;Sieveking & Chappell, 1970); expectancies for different types of help (Johnson, 1973); or attitudes toward different clinic lables (Sieveking & Doctor, 1969). Several studies have looked at the frequency of help seeking among various groups using patients (Redlich, Hollingshead, & Bellis, 1955) or nonpatients (Fisher & Turner, 1970).…”